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Evolution, Current Reality and Future of Dietary Assessment

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2023) | Viewed by 15481

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anne-Kathrin Illner

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor

College of Health Sciences, Polytechnic Institute UniLaSalle Beauvais, 60026 Beauvais, France.
Interests: dietary assessment; technology-based exposure assessment; cohort and intervention studies; social inequalities

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The proper assessment of diet, one of the most complex environmental factors, poses many challenges. Everyone eats, but there is a high intra-individual variability in what is consumed. Everyone is exposed to certain dietary factors, but the degree of exposure varies. In addition, dietary intake interacts with other factors that influence disease risk, such as age, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, and tobacco use.

Over the past decade, new technological advances have opened innovative avenues for diet assessment. In particular, the widespread use of smartphones and advancement of data storage and sharing have enabled less expensive and burdensome dietary intake measurements to be conducted in large-scale settings. Applications, wearables, and virtual images are increasingly being used to capture the dynamic evolution of dietary patterns and habits. Technology offers a great chance to facilitate diet assessment in populations, but the extent to which accurate and detailed data are improving investigations of the role of diet in disease aetiology and prediction is still undetermined. Indeed, the rapid evolution of new technological tools might confuse users’ evaluation of their respective features and challenge the choices made. Future areas of research in this field include the development of proper validation studies, determination of the feasibility of use in technology-illiterate population groups, the reproducibility of methods used, statistical data analysis, and integration. In this Special Issue of Nutrients we aim to give an overview of the historical evolution, current reality, and future of diet assessment in various settings.

Dr. Anne-Kathrin Illner
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

dietary assessment
dietary intake
technology
population-based studies

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1480 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Validation of the Updated GloboDiet Version by Protein and Potassium Intake for the German National Nutrition Monitoring

by Friederike Wittig, Carolin Krems, Ann Katrin Engelbert and Andrea Strassburg

Nutrients 2023, 15(20), 4418; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15204418 - 18 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1096

Abstract

(1) Background: The German version of GloboDiet, a software for a computer-based assessment of 24 h recalls, was intensively updated. Therefore, validation is required prior to its use in the upcoming data collection within the German National Nutrition Monitoring. (2) Methods: For this purpose, the cross-sectional ErNst study with 109 participants (57 women and 52 men) was conducted. The study provided data on 24 h GloboDiet recalls and 24 h urine samples from the same day. Protein and potassium intake, known as eligible validation markers, were compared to the measured excretion in urine. To assess the agreement between intake and excretion, the following statistical methods were used: Wilcoxon rank tests, confidence intervals, Spearman correlations, and Bland–Altman plots. (3) Results: Overall, the updated German GloboDiet version showed valid estimates of protein intake. Regarding potassium, results were ambiguous and differed depending on the statistical method applied. While the Bland–Altman plot showed a good agreement between 24 h recalls and urine samples for potassium, the correlation was weak, suggesting that 24 h recalls may underestimate true intake. (4) Conclusions: Despite the partly ambiguous results, the updated GloboDiet version linked to the current German Nutrient Database provides valid estimates of nutrient intake. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution, Current Reality and Future of Dietary Assessment)

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11 pages, 254 KiB

Open AccessArticle

24-Hour Dietary Recall in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program: Perspective of the Program Coordinator

by Annie J. Roe, Kavitha Sankavaram, Susan Baker, Karen Franck, Michael Puglisi, Dawn Earnesty and Teresa Henson

Nutrients 2023, 15(19), 4147; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15194147 - 26 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1649

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine how the 24-hour dietary recall (24HDR) is administered and how the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) peer educators and other staff are trained on the data collection and entry process, from the EFNEP coordinators’ perspectives. This cross-sectional, quantitative study utilized an online survey to collect information from EFNEP coordinators representing 61 of 76 EFNEP programs. While 56% of the programs collected the 24HDR data starting with the first thing eaten the previous day, 49% of them started collecting data at the time of class, going backwards. Most programs, i.e., 72%, reported using a multiple-pass method; however, only one-third of them reported using the standard five-pass method. Almost all programs, i.e., 97%, reported one peer educator collecting data from a group of 2–12 clients. All programs reported collecting the 24HDR data in a group setting, with about one-third of the programs also collecting data one-on-one. Most programs, i.e., 57%, reported spending ≤4 h on the initial training of staff in how to collect 24HDR data, and 54% of them reported that the peer educators entered the data themselves. This study found that the methods used to collect answers, train the staff, and enter the 24HDR data varied across EFNEP programs and that there is a need to standardize or revise the collection of 24HDR data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution, Current Reality and Future of Dietary Assessment)

10 pages, 247 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Conducting 24-Hour Dietary Recalls in Group Settings with Adults Having Low-Income: Perspectives of EFNEP Peer Educators

by Karen Franck, Michael Puglisi, Annie J. Roe, Susan Baker, Teresa Henson, Dawn Earnesty and Kavitha Sankavaram

Nutrients 2023, 15(18), 4020; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15184020 - 17 Sep 2023

Viewed by 952

Abstract

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is a federally funded program that teaches nutrition education to adults and youth with low-income. EFNEP is funded throughout the United States including federal territories. The purpose of EFNEP is to provide nutrition education. Evaluation for adult programs includes pre/post surveys and pre/post 24-h diet recalls (24HDR). A validated standard of dietary measures, 24HDR are useful when collected as designed: one-on-one by a trained professional. In EFNEP, 24HDR are collected in group settings by EFNEP peer educators who often have not received a college degree or any formal education in nutrition. The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes and behaviors of EFNEP peer educators regarding how they collect diet recalls in a group setting, their perceptions of how adult participants feel about the recalls, and the benefits and challenges of using recalls. Online interviews were conducted with EFNEP peer educators across the U.S. Peer educators recognized the importance of collecting the recall data but identified several challenges such as time, resources, and participant reluctance to complete the recall. Program evaluation through methods like the 24HDR is important to measure outcomes and inform program improvements but also needs to include how evaluation can benefit participants and minimize data collection burden. Future research needs to examine the validity of collecting recalls in a group setting compared to other measures of diet quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution, Current Reality and Future of Dietary Assessment)

29 pages, 1574 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Global Trends in the Availability of Dietary Data in Low and Middle-Income Countries

by Victoria Padula de Quadros, Agnieszka Balcerzak, Pauline Allemand, Rita Ferreira de Sousa, Teresa Bevere, Joanne Arsenault, Megan Deitchler and Bridget Anna Holmes

Nutrients 2022, 14(14), 2987; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14142987 - 21 Jul 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3237

Abstract

Individual-level quantitative dietary data can provide suitably disaggregated information to identify the needs of all population sub-groups, which can in turn inform agricultural, nutrition, food safety, and environmental policies and programs. The purpose of this discussion paper is to provide an overview of dietary surveys conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 1980 to 2019, analyzing their key characteristics to understand the trends in dietary data collection across time. The present study analyzes the information gathered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Global Individual Food consumption data Tool (FAO/WHO GIFT). FAO/WHO GIFT is a growing repository of individual-level dietary data and contains information about dietary surveys from around the world, collected through published survey results, literature reviews, and direct contact with data owners. The analysis indicates an important increase in the number of dietary surveys conducted in LMICs in the past four decades and a notable increase in the number of national dietary surveys. It is hoped that this trend continues, together with associated efforts to validate and standardize the dietary methods used. The regular implementation of dietary surveys in LMICs is key to support evidence-based policies for improved nutrition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution, Current Reality and Future of Dietary Assessment)

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16 pages, 1000 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of an Innovative Online Dietary Assessment Tool for France: Adaptation of myfood24

by Anaïs Hasenböhler, Lena Denes, Noémie Blanstier, Henri Dehove, Nour Hamouche, Sarah Beer, Grace Williams, Béatrice Breil, Flore Depeint, Janet E. Cade and Anne-Kathrin Illner-Delepine

Nutrients 2022, 14(13), 2681; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14132681 - 28 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1915

Abstract

myfood24 is an innovative dietary assessment tool originally developed in English for use in the United Kingdom. This online 24 h recall, a tool commonly used in nutritional epidemiology, has been developed into different international versions. This paper aims to describe the creation of its French version. We used a consistent approach to development, aligned with other international versions, using similar methodologies. A nutritional database (food item codes, portion groups and accompaniments, etc.) was developed based on commonly used French food composition tables (CIQUAL 2017). Portion sizes were adapted to French dietary habits (estimation, photographs of French portion sizes, assessment of the photograph series and their angle (aerial vs. 45 degrees)). We evaluated the new tool, which contained nearly 3000 food items with 34 individuals using the System Usability Scale. We validated the French food portion picture series using EFSA criteria for bias and agreement. The results of the picture evaluation showed that the angle with which photos are taken had limited impact on the ability to judge portion size. Estimating food intake is a challenging task. Evaluation showed “good” usability of the system in its French version. myfood24 France will be a useful addition to nutritional epidemiology research in France. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution, Current Reality and Future of Dietary Assessment)

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Review

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12 pages, 1446 KiB

Open AccessReview

How to Tackle the Relationship between Autoimmune Diseases and Diet: Well Begun Is Half-Done

by Camilla Barbero Mazzucca, Davide Raineri, Giuseppe Cappellano and Annalisa Chiocchetti

Nutrients 2021, 13(11), 3956; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13113956 - 5 Nov 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5044

Abstract

Nutrition and immunity are closely related, and the immune system is composed of the most highly energy-consuming cells in the body. Much of the immune system is located within the GI tract, since it must deal with the huge antigenic load introduced with food. Moreover, the incidence of immune-mediated diseases is elevated in Westernized countries, where “transition nutrition” prevails, owing to the shift from traditional dietary patterns towards Westernized patterns. This ecological correlation has fostered increasing attempts to find evidence to support nutritional interventions aimed at managing and reducing the risk of immune-mediated diseases. Recent studies have described the impacts of single nutrients on markers of immune function, but the knowledge currently available is not sufficient to demonstrate the impact of specific dietary patterns on immune-mediated clinical disease endpoints. If nutritional scientists are to conduct quality research, one of many challenges facing them, in studying the complex interactions between the immune system and diet, is to develop improved tools for investigating eating habits in the context of immunomediated diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution, Current Reality and Future of Dietary Assessment)

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